Time is of the essence when transporting an injured person from an accident scene to the hospital (or from hospital to hospital). Delays in receiving medical treatment at the hospital can sometimes have dire consequences. An injured person may inadvertently cause further injury to themself if not immobilized during transport to the hospital. Consequently, a need exists for a patient restraint that quickly and securely immobilizes an injured person during transportation from an accident scene as well as in other circumstances where an injured person must be transported.
Many devices have been developed to secure an injured person to a supporting structure during transportation from an accident scene to a hospital. Unfortunately, however, many of the restraint devices and supporting structures that have been developed are awkward and unwieldy to use at the oftentimes cramped environment of an accident scene. Typically, these devices employ a large number of straps and fasteners in order to properly secure the patient during transportation. The large number of straps and fasteners slow down the response time of emergency personnel because the straps and fasteners have a tendency to become tangled, or caught under the body of the injured person or under the supporting structure. Many patient restraint devices are also constructed with straps and fasteners that are fixed to the supporting structure. If, however, the restraint device is detachably connected to the supporting structure then the restraint device can be removed from the structure prior to positioning the injured person on the structure to avoid any entanglement. The ideal patient restraint device and supporting structure are constructed so that emergency personnel can quickly manipulate the injured person, the restraining device, and the supporting structure in any environment.
Additionally, many devices restrict the ability of emergency personnel to administer medical attention due to their almost complete encapsulation of the injured person. The ideal patient restraint device is constructed so that emergency personnel can visually inspect wounds and administer medical attention to the injured person during transportation while maintaining the injured person in an immobilized state.
An example of a patient restraint device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,739, issued on Nov. 20, 1990, to Bradford for a stretcher used to transport a patient in an immobilized condition. The stretcher described in the '739 patent includes a body supporting member within a frame and elongated flaps connected to the frame which define a tapered body support zone for immobilizing the patient. The elongated flaps are connected to the frame and thereby are difficult to manipulate in the cramped accident environment and have the potential of getting into the way of emergency personnel while the injured person is being immobilized. Any delay in receiving medical attention caused by the construction of the patient restraining device can be life threatening to a seriously injured person. Additionally, the elongated flaps of the restraint device of the '739 patent covers the body of the injured person from the neck to the knees and prevents emergency personnel from administering medical attention to those areas during transportation.
One example of a patient restraint which is simple in construction and easy to manipulate and use to secure a patient is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,541, issued on Sep. 17, 1991, to Haneline. The restraining device described in '541 is used for restraining the patient against a substantially vertical film backboard of an upright X-ray station. The restraining device includes a pair of brackets mounted to the backboard, a restraint strap, fasteners for engaging the strap to the brackets, and at least one genital shield. The patient restraint described in '541 is specifically designed to position a person during an X-ray session and is insufficient to properly secure an injured person to a supporting structure. The patient restraint of the '541 patent does not provide sufficient immobilization of the shoulders, torso, and legs of the person for transportation. The expanded central portion of the strap prevents the emergency personnel from administering medical attention to the areas covered by the expanded central portion during transportation.